George Harrison Didn’t Care if ‘Cloud Nine’ Bombed: ‘I’ve Had so Many Bombs It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’
George Harrison said he didn’t care if his 1987 album, Cloud Nine, bombed. The former Beatle didn’t release music solely for the fans. He made and released music because he liked doing it. If fans liked it, that was a bonus.
George Harrison worked effortlessly with Jeff Lynne on ‘Cloud Nine’
Before starting work on Cloud Nine, George decided he wanted ELO frontman, Jeff Lynne, to help him as co-producer. It was a little ironic, considering George had once called Lynne a Beatles copycat. However, George felt Lynne was perfect for that reason. He wanted someone who knew his music style well.
He invited Lynne over to his home, Friar Park, and then invited him to vacation with him in Australia. George needed to be sure Lynne would be a good songwriting partner. They had to get along, and Lynne passed the test. George then asked Lynne to work with him on Cloud Nine.
Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Ray Cooper, Elton John, Gary Wright, and Jim Horn joined the pair in the recording studio.
Rolling Stone wrote, “Despite the shifting cast of characters, collaborating with Lynne gave Harrison the enjoyable feeling of being in a band again.”
George told them, “The Beatles were a little unit on their own. We grew up together, we played all our apprenticeship together in Liverpool and Germany. We completely understood each other. Having Jeff Lynne, for me it was like ‘Now I’m back in a group.’ We share responsibilities, we share ideas.”
Throughout the making of Cloud Nine, there was never a time when George and Lynne weren’t on the same page. They were both in agreement on how the album should sound. “I think he feels the same as me,” Lynne told Rolling Stone. “He didn’t want all this banging and clattering going on.”
For once, George was the leader of a band, even if its musicians came and went at different intervals.
George didn’t care if ‘Cloud Nine’ bombed
Making Cloud Nine wasn’t about appeasing record companies or even fans. It was about making music with friends, as it always was with George. If making music became hard work, George stopped doing it. In fact, in 1977, he did. George didn’t touch his guitar once the whole year. He felt that record companies had gotten too serious and wanted the same old garbage.
In 1988, Ray Martin (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters) asked George if he feared how fans would perceive Cloud Nine when he hadn’t released an album in five years.
George replied, “No, not really. I’ve had so many bombs it doesn’t matter anymore. [Laughter.]”
In 1979, George told Rolling Stone that he’d grown sick of the whole thing, everything that came with releasing a new album. Everyone was “trading papers” and record companies. After being in the business since 1961, the “novelty” had worn off for him.
“Really, it comes down to ego,” he explained. “You have to have a big ego in order to keep plodding on being in the public eye. If you want to be popular and famous, you can do it; it’s dead easy if you have that ego desire. But most of my ego desires as far as being famous and successful were fulfilled a long time ago.”
That didn’t mean that he disliked writing music. However, he’d come to hate the “whole thing of when you put it out, you become a part of the overall framework of the business. And I was a bit bored with that. If I write a tune and people think it’s nice then that’s fine by me; but I hate having to compete and promote the thing. I really don’t like promotion.”
The former Beatle said there was no pressure making ‘Cloud Nine’
During a 1987 interview with Warner Bros., George said there was no pressure making Cloud Nine. He said he didn’t tell his record company he was doing another album. George just started with the basic tracks for a few songs and saw what happened.
“I didn’t have to do any album,” George said, “and so it was no pressure until I got maybe three quarters into it and then I was saying OK, then I’d played it to Warners.”
Asked if he was nervous about bringing the album to the company because it had been a while, George said it didn’t bother him. “You see, I know people think in terms of, ‘He’s making a comeback.’ You know, but I’m not making a comeback. I’ve always been around like you say, doing this, doing that, making movies, on different shows, TV shows,” George said.
“I’ve done a few little things. So I don’t feel like I’m making a comeback. I’m making a comeback into the eye of the public maybe by doing these videos or interviews specifically this time for the album, but I’ve never been anywhere and I’m not going anywhere. Just been here all the time.”
George didn’t enjoy to extras of making an album successful. He also didn’t enjoy making a hit record because it made him popular again, and everyone would “bug” him.
George just wanted to write and record music for his own benefit and jam with his friends until dawn. If he decided to release an album, it was up to him. He didn’t have to do anything. We’re lucky he did.
